Oh, Baby!
by RemyTheReaper
Summary: A collection of "5 times" oneshots centering around Jim and Pam's upcoming bundle of joy. T to be safe. Jim/Pam
1. 5 Times Jim Feels Guilty

**A/N: Hi! So this is my first venture into The Office fanfiction, go easy on me! haha. This was an idea I got while watching some of the season 6 episodes, and it was going to be a stand alone oneshot, but then I started to get more ideas for oneshots like this, so I decided to make it into a collection :) Hope you like it!**

**5 Times Jim Feels Guilty About Getting Pam Pregnant (and 1 Time He Doesn't)  
**

**1.  
**

The house is quiet as Jim sneaks stealthily through the front door. Pam had woken up that morning with the worst nausea of her pregnancy so far, and he insisted she stay home from work and try to sleep it off. He had gone in just for a client call in the morning, but got stuck trying to talk Michael down from another one of his crazy schemes. He sneaks in because he's afraid of waking Pam up if she's finally been able to fall asleep. But when he gets upstairs to their bedroom she is lying awake in bed looking quite miserable. He offers a quiet greeting and lays down next to her on the bed. Pam smiles though she looks weak, and leans happily into his arms, resting her tired head against his chest. Suddenly she tenses and before Jim can understand what is happening she tears herself from his arms and bolts towards the bathroom.

By the time he makes it to the bathroom she is on the floor, dry heaving because there isn't anything left in her stomach to throw up and sobbing. After a little bit of coaxing she admits that the smell of his cologne has been making her sick lately, but she loves the smell and didn't want him to stop wearing it. Jim stands speechless above her. He wants to hold her, to comfort her, but he knows further exposure to the scent of his cologne will just make her feel worse. So he takes a shower and throws away the offending cologne. Pam has fallen asleep and he lies down next to her, letting one hand rest on her slightly swollen stomach. He is thankful that, consumed by peaceful slumber, she cannot see the guilt driven tears in his eyes.

**2.**

When he wakes up at 3 AM in bed alone, Jim is sure that Pam is just in the bathroom. The baby has recently decided that lying with its head pressing against Pam's bladder is an extremely comfortable position, and she is now the stereotypical pregnant woman, waddling off to the bathroom almost constantly. But 3 AM quickly turns to 3:30 AM and Jim realizes that the door to the bathroom is open and it is dark inside. It is only seconds after this realization that he is out of bed, yawning and stumbling towards the door.

Downstairs he walks into the living room and is surprised to find Pam, her eyes rimmed red with exhaustion, pacing back and forth, her hands cradling her stomach. She jumps slightly at the sight of him, and Jim realizes for the first time that a pair of headphones is stretched across her baby bump, connected to the I-pod in her pocket. Jim smirks as she blushes, trying to explain that the baby keeps moving around and kicking and won't go to sleep no matter what she does. She sheepishly reveals that her I-pod is playing a lullaby she downloaded earlier on repeat. Jim laughs and kisses her, pulling her against him and placing a hand on her stomach. She doesn't look up at him, but moves his hand slightly, holding her hand over it until he feels a strong kick and she flinches letting go of his hand. The smile disappears from Jim's face as he feels the baby deliver a few more powerful blows. He drops his hand from Pam's stomach and looks down at her in awe, understanding that this is no laughing matter. Pam looks up at him and his heart drops as she glares at him with tearful eyes. She is silent, but Jim knows what she is thinking, _You did this to me._

**3.**

Jim doesn't look up as the door to his office opens. He had gone in early that morning to get some work done, but Michael had caught wind of his plan and spent the entire extra hour Jim had set aside for expense reports antagonizing him. He is sure now that the intruder is Michael again, looking to set him even farther behind schedule, so when he hears Erin's voice, he can't help but snap his head up in surprise. The usually perky receptionist looks worried, and she speaks so quickly that Jim can't make out what she is trying to say. He tells her to calm down, talk slower and after a breath she is able to relay the message that Phyllis has just called her from the parking lot and wanted her to tell him that Pam has fallen. Before she finishes telling him the whole story Jim has bolted out the door taking the steps two at a time and nearly knocking over Dwight on his way. As soon as he steps outside he remembers the jacket hanging on the coat rack upstairs, but his eyes quickly land on Pam a few feet away and the jacket is forgotten again.

Pam is sitting on the curb with Phyllis crouched next to her. Angela stands above them , and Jim is surprised to see that she looks genuinely nervous. He approaches the trio of women and they all look to him at once. He is shocked to realize his voice is still functional and asking what happened. Pam brushes it off, saying she is fine, but Phyllis reveals that she slipped on some black ice and landed on her side, her stomach hitting the ground when she fell. Jim's heart is racing as he tells Phyllis and Angela that he'll take over, and that they should go inside. When they are gone he helps Pam to her feet and asks her for her keys, informing her that they are going to the hospital. He ignores her protests, telling her to call her doctor and let him know they are coming. She refuses until they are actually in the car driving and she realizes he isn't backing down.

Her doctor meets them at the entrance to the hospital with a wheelchair and before Jim can even comprehend what is happening Pam is lying in a bed in the maternity ward hooked up to a fetal heart rate monitor. She is worried now, and Jim sits by her side, holding her hand and trying to reassure her in this stressful situation. They listen to the monitor together and every time there is even the slightest off beep, Pam squeezes Jim's hand a little harder. She looks so helpless and scared, lying in the aggressively bare room, the heart rate monitor looming like a dark cloud above them, holding the prognosis of their baby in its beeps. One hour and an ultrasound later, they are walking out the door, having been told that their baby is perfectly fine. Jim is relieved, but he makes a mental note not to go in early and leave Pam to brave the parking lot alone anymore.

**4.**

Jim notices in the car on the way home that Pam isn't acting like herself. She is usually extremely talkative, but today it seems like trying to get her to talk is like pulling teeth. She only mumbles or shrugs in response to his questions and refuses to make eye contact. So when they arrive home he practically jumps out of the car and runs around to open the door for her, in the hopes of forcing a reaction. But Pam just looks down and takes his arm as he helps her out of the car. In that moment, Jim wants to cry out with frustration, but it is Pam who cries out first, wincing and pressing the heels of her hands into her lower back. Instantly Jim is holding her in his arms, asking if she is okay, if she thinks she is having contractions ( a month early), if he should call the doctor, if they need to go to the hospital. She shakes her head, sheepishly revealing that her back has been killing her all day, she just didn't want to worry him because he's already done so much for her and she feels guilty.

Without waiting to hear more, Jim scoops Pam into his arms just as he did seven months ago at the company picnic, though the fact that she is now eight months pregnant and looks it makes the gesture seem even more heroic. He carries her inside and upstairs into their bedroom, setting her down so she is sitting on the edge of the bed and, after kicking off his shoes, he crawls onto the bed behind her and launches into a back rub, letting the tension in her muscles melt beneath his fingers. When he is done he wraps his arms around her, his hands resting on either side of her baby bump, and leans into her ear, telling her how much he loves her and how she never needs to feel guilty about what he does for her. He is thankful that she chooses not to turn around in this moment, because one look at his face would give away his hypocrisy in a second.

**5.**

Sweat and tears mix on Pam's reddened face as she grabs her stomach and gasps for air. Jim nervously rubs her back, whispering encouraging words in her ear. He glances at the clock, has it really been ten hours? In a moment Pam relaxes, leaning back into the pillows of the bed. The beeping of the heart monitor evens out slightly and she lets out a sob, looking up at Jim in desperation. She is just minutes away from another contraction, and the terror is evident in her eyes. Jim's voice catches in his throat as he looks down at her. This is not the same woman who had come into his office that morning gloating about a great sale she had made and helping him plan a prank on Dwight. It is certainly not the same woman who just five hours ago, during that glorious period of time when the doctors had been able to control her pain with the bare minimum amount of pain medications she had agreed to, was racing him down the hallway in a wheelchair. Now she is merely a shell of that person, twisted by the intense pain that surges through her body periodically.

Jim is unable to speak. He is so in awe of how strong she is, standing by her decision not to have an epidural. He knows she won't last much longer though, because as the next contraction sweeps through her body, she is unable to even sit forward off of the pillows propping her up. One hand goes directly to her stomach, but the other grabs his wrist as she sobs harder, the heart monitor sky rocketing to record speeds. No, Jim thinks, she won't be able to take much more of this. Just as Pam loosens her grip on his wrist, the nurse re-enters with a smile. She is clearly used to situations like this, because with a few quick words she has managed to calm both Jim and Pam down significantly, though Pam's heart monitor will not slow down, and her rest period between contractions has become virtually non-existent. The nurse leaves for just a moment, coming back with the doctor in tow. Then things begin to happen very quickly. Someone shoves a pair of scrubs at Jim and he pulls them on, not leaving Pam's side. She is practically screaming with pain now and the nurse shouts for Jim to help her sit up. It is not an easy feat, but he manages with Pam squeezing his hand so hard he is afraid his bones will snap. Then there is counting and the doctor is telling Pam to push. Jim struggles to keep her sitting while whispering encouraging words in her ear. His heart is racing too now, and everything seems to be moving too fast to keep up with. Before he knows it, the doctor calls that he can see a head, and then he is saying just one more push, one more.

In an instant Jim feels Pam's entire body relax and he helps her to lay back against the pillows. It takes him a moment longer to acknowledge the loud cries echoing through the room. He follows Pam's gaze to where the doctor is holding their baby up for them to see. Their beautiful baby girl.

* * *

**1.** The infant is asleep in Pam's arms when Jim returns from calling their parents. He can't help but smile, walking in quietly and sitting in the seat next to the bed. Pam looks up at him and the smile must be contagious, because a grin breaks out on her face,

"Isn't she beautiful?" She whispers, her eyes going back to the baby.

"So beautiful." Jim replies, his eyes filling up with tears at the sight of their daughter. She is so perfect, ten fingers, ten toes, beautiful green-blue eyes, and a mess of auburn curls. One look at her face and there is no denying that she is their child. But there is still one thing nagging at his mind...

"Pam?"

She looks up at him, a questioning expression on her face, and Jim takes a deep breath.

"I just... all the pain you've been through in the past nine months, was it...I mean..." He trails off, his eyes searching for the answer to his question in hers. Pam smiles and, ever so carefully, leans over and kisses him. When she pulls away her eyes are also damp,

"She was worth every second."


	2. 5 Times Pam is Scared

**A/N: Hi! Sorry this chapter took awhile, I'm kind of a procrastinator lol. I'm not super thrilled with the ending, but I hope you still like it! Also, this was written pre-Secret Santa, so 3 isn't exactly accurate anymore, because it was just kind of speculation.  
**

**5 Times Pam is Scared (And 1 Time She Isn't)**

1.

They manage to hold off telling everyone in the office for 3 months after they find out. It's 2 months and 3 weeks longer than Pam expected they'd last, but that doesn't make the fact that everyone now knows any easier to deal with.

For the most part everyone has been nice about it; almost all of them have offered congratulations of some sort. Pam knows that they whisper behind her and Jim's backs, but she pretends not to notice. She is happy, thrilled really, at the prospect of having her own child to love and care for. The mere thought of being a mother brings a grin to her face, stretching her cheeks so they hurt. Nothing, she thinks, can get her down.

A few days after Pam's pregnancy is revealed to the office, Jim gets called away on a client meeting over lunch. Pam is planning on eating at her desk, but when she enters the break room to use the microwave Kelly begs her to join her and Erin for lunch, and Pam can't refuse. She sits across from the two women and Kelly instantly scoots her chair closer, talking quickly about how exciting it is that Pam is pregnant and how the baby is going to be so cute and offering suggestions for names. Pam simply smiles and pretends to seriously consider the names that she knows she will never use for her child. Jim has always marveled at her ability to put up with Kelly, but Pam finds her amusing from time to time, and listening to her rant is better than eating at her desk and having to deal with the stench of Dwight's hard boiled eggs. So she sits and listens and lets her mind wander until the subject turns to when the baby will be born and Erin meekly offers,

"I hear that labor is really painful."

Pam pauses eating for a moment, her stomach suddenly clenching. She frowns, but Kelly and Erin don't seem to notice, because Kelly picks up talking immediately,

"Ohmigod, I know. That's why when I get pregnant and have my baby, I'm getting an epidural. You're getting an epidural, right Pam?"

Pam blushes, looking down at her hands,

"I was actually thinking of having a natural birth."

Kelly's eyes get huge, but before she can speak there is a laugh from the vending machines and the trio of women looks over to find Meredith standing there, shaking her head,

"Natural birth? You should take all the drugs they'll give you." She says, waving her candy bar in Pam's direction. Pam subconsciously moves a hand to her stomach, but doesn't answer.

"Didn't you have a natural birth?" Kelly asks, and Meredith nods.

"Worst mistake of my life."

"Was it really that painful?" Erin asks, wide-eyed.

"Look at it this way, it's like trying to push a football through a hole the size of a quarter."

"Eww," Kelly whines, "How does that even work? A football is like huge next to a quarter."

"Lot's of stretching mostly."

Pam stands up abruptly, cleaning up her things before running off muttering about needing to get back to work.

The next time Jim has a lunch meeting, Pam eats at her desk.

2.

Dunder Mifflin has never been the greatest company. They've gone through their ups and downs, and with the economy the way it is, Pam has known for awhile that they've been having some money issues. Still, she never expected for them to go bankrupt. She relates it to cancer: You know it exists and is happening all over the place, but you never expect it to happen to you. She never expected them to go bankrupt, not Dunder Mifflin, not her company.

Michael responds to the news with a game, which is not an entirely bad idea. It distracts everyone, Pam included, for most of the work day. They have fun, smile and joke with each other. They forget for a little while that they may be looking for new jobs soon. But the game ends, and in the car on the way home, Pam is overcome with the same dread she felt earlier in the day while talking to Jim in his office. She looks out the window, afraid to look at Jim as she speaks,

"Jim, what if Dunder Mifflin closes?"

There is a long silence, before a quiet reply of, "I don't know."

Pam shuts her eyes, resting her forehead against the cool glass of the window. Her hands are interlaced on her stomach, catching an occasional kick from the baby. She tries to imagine what will happen if Dunder Mifflin goes under, how they will be able to support their son or daughter. They have some money in savings, but babies are expensive, and they've got a mortgage to pay too. She wonders if they will have to sell their house, and suddenly tears fill her eyes. Jim loves that house, he grew up there and he plans for them to raise their children there. Suddenly Pam finds herself sobbing at the thought of not being able to afford to take care of their child, and at the thought of losing their house. She sobs at the idea of having to find a new job and at the fact that she and Jim will most likely not end up working together. She even sobs at the idea of losing all of the crazy people who make up their office.

Jim is silent as he pulls into their driveway and parks the car. He gets out of the car and walks around to Pam's side, opening her door and pulling her into his arms. She falls gratefully against him and buries her face in his shoulder.

"We're going to be okay." Jim whispers into her hair, "No matter what, we're going to be okay."

Pam sniffles muttering, "I know", and she feels bad for lying, but she hopes that if Jim holds her long enough then maybe she will start to believe it.

3.

The day of the Christmas party is going surprisingly well. There was some tension earlier in the day with Michael and Phyllis both being Santa, but the Christmas spirit must be heavy in the air, because Michael has given in and is enjoying being an elf with Dwight now while Phyllis fills the role of Santa Claus.

It is nearing the end of the day and everyone is starting to get their things together to leave. Pam sits at her desk, sending out a quick e-mail while Jim handles a phone call with David Wallace. She glances at the clock and sighs, hoping he will be off the phone soon. Her feet are sore and she is exhausted. But three rousing games of solitaire later Jim is still shut up in his office. Most everyone is gone, but as Pam is about to start another game of solitaire, she feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around.

"Hi Phyllis." She says, offering a tired smile at the older woman, who grins back.

"That's Santa to you! And I think I've got something here with your name on it!"

Phyllis begins to reach into the bag slung over her shoulder, but Pam shakes her head,

"I actually already got my Dunder Mifflin mouse pad from corporate." She says, gesturing to her desk.

"Well, I've got something else here," Phyllis pulls out a small wrapped gift and makes a big show of checking the name tag and frowning, "Oh, wait, this isn't for you, but I think you had better open it, since the intended recipient isn't here today."

She holds out the gift and Pam eagerly takes it, intrigued. She checks the name tag and a smile breaks out onto her face as she reads the two words, "Baby Halpert". Her fingers rip at the wrapping paper and pull out a tiny white sweater, red around the collar and cuffs. She stares at it in amazement, it's so _small_.

"I knit it myself," Phyllis offers, "The baby will probably have to grow into it; the smallest pattern I could find was for a six month old."

Pam feels her eyes fill with tears and before she knows what she is doing, she stands and wraps her arms around Phyllis in a hug. Phyllis hugs her back and when they pull apart she is grinning.

"You really like it?"

Pam chuckles slightly, remembering the oven mitt incident a few years before.

"I love it."

The two chat a little before Phyllis leaves, and Pam sits back at her desk, holding the sweater. She tries to imagine her baby wearing it, but it is so tiny, she can't imagine her baby being so tiny. Actually, she's never really thought about it before, but now that she's holding the tiny sweater she realizes just how small this baby will be. She closes her eyes and tries to shake the thought from her mind. How is she supposed to take care of something so small? Something so tiny and helpless?

Pam opens her eyes as she hears the door to Jim's office open. She stands up and forces a smile,

"Hey, look what Phyllis made for the baby!"

4.

The stark white walls of the hospital room are only adding to the anxiety Pam is feeling as she and Jim wait for her doctor to return. Next to her bed, the fetal heart rate monitor hooked up to her stomach is beeping a steady rhythm, but she is sure that if there were a monitor hooked up to measure her heart rate right now it would be horribly fast and irregular.

Jim holds her hand, running his fingers along her knuckles. When she looks up at him he tries to smile reassuringly, but he is at a loss for words. Pam doesn't even try to speak, she feels so stupid. She had been walking into the building with Phyllis when she stepped on a patch of black ice. She barely slipped. Barely. Normally, she would have been able to catch her balance and keep walking, but instead of catching her balance, she had toppled over, managing only to turn herself at the very last second and land on her side. She doesn't even want to imagine the results if she had landed directly on her stomach. Still, she is terrified that the fall has hurt the baby. All she can think about is the time her sister hit her head on some ice when she was three and Pam was five. She sees all the blood and hears Penny shrieking as her father threw Pam over his shoulder and carried her inside so she wouldn't have to see Penny hurt like that. She imagines her baby bleeding in her stomach, but they can't see it. They can't hear it shrieking.

After Pam has been hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor for an hour her doctor returns. He says that the heart rate is good, but he wants an ultrasound just to be safe. He leaves and a nurse comes in with a wheelchair. Pam must look completely petrified now, because as Jim is helping her into the wheelchair he leans into her ear, whispering,

"It's okay Pam, the baby's going to be okay."

And suddenly she feels like crying, her eyes filling with tears. Jim takes her hand and doesn't let go until they reach the ultrasound room and he helps her up onto the exam table. She lays back and waits until the ultrasound tech has smeared the cold goo onto her stomach before looking up at the screen hesitantly.

"Everything looks perfect." The ultrasound tech says when she notices the concerned expression on Pam's face. She points out a few things on the screen, but stands by her original judgment that the baby is fine.

Pam is relieved, but still scared. She knows that if she falls again the results may not be as good. Suddenly, she is starting to hate the winter snow and ice.

5.

Pam can't believe that this moment has finally arrived. For nine months she has been carrying around this tiny little creature in her stomach, feeling it grow and move inside of her, and now it has come down to this.

She is ten hours into labor, and feeling the most intense pain she has ever felt. It is indescribable, piercing her entire body, leaving her breathless and sobbing, but she is still bracing herself for what is yet to come. This whole ordeal is just building up to the actual birth, which, according to some of the friends Pam made in Lamaze class who already had their babies, is the most painful part.

Jim sits next to her, springing into action every time she is hit by another contraction, rubbing her back and whispering in her ear that she is doing so well, and he is so proud of her, but as much as she loves him his words mean nothing right now. All Pam can think about is what can go wrong. What if the baby gets stuck? What if she isn't strong enough to push it out? Or what if she does push it out, and it's stillborn?

Suddenly all those thoughts are gone from her mind as the pain is cranked up to an entirely new level, and Pam finds herself unable to even sit forward. She grabs Jim's wrist in desperation, but is too blinded by pain to see how concerned he is. All she can do is sob and squeeze his wrist until, finally, she is relieved of the pain.

At that exact moment the nurse enters, bringing a calming energy to the room. She talks softly, as if the baby has already been born and is asleep in the room, and with a few words manages to calm Pam, though only slightly, as the intense pain returns and does not go away.

Things get very fuzzy very fast, and Pam is hardly aware of what is happening. She hears her doctor enter the room and feels Jim helping her sit up, though she can not find any energy to help him in this task. Then, before she can comprehend what is going on, the doctor tells her to push.

Every second seems like a million years as Pam pushes, screaming as the air is shoved out of her lungs. She is exhausted and her fears replay themselves in her mind over and over and over and-

Its done.

The pain stops abruptly and Pam would be amazed by how quickly her body could relax, but she is too busy staring in awe at the tiny crying baby being held aloft by the doctor.

Her baby.

Her daughter.

* * *

1.

The sense of awe Pam felt at the sight of her daughter has not worn off as she holds the sleepy infant in her arms an hour later. Jim has gone off to call their parents, leaving Pam and the baby alone.

The little girl blinks up at Pam with still unfocused eyes and Pam's heart melts. She lifts the tiny baby and kisses her on the forehead, adoring the softness of her skin. The baby hiccups and Pam grins, tears coming to her eyes. She cannot believe that this is her daughter, her own flesh and blood.

And then for some reason, Pam thinks back to all the things she was afraid of when she was pregnant and laughs. It seems so strange to think of them while she holds her, now sleeping, daughter. They were all legitimate fears, but in the end they didn't make a difference. It doesn't matter now that she was afraid of labor, that she clung to Jim's arm every time they walked through the parking lot. She has a beautiful, healthy baby girl, and that is all that matters now. She knows that there will be times in the future when things will be bad or terrifying, but she isn't afraid. Not now.

Later, when he returns, Jim asks Pam if it was worth it. She smiles and kisses him, tears coming to her eyes,

"She was worth every second."


End file.
